Food

Sep
26
2021
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By Troy Warren
Could the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Be Heading to France?

Could the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Be Heading to France?

Foodie, ,
By Mike Pomranz | FoodAndWine.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Foodie Nathan’s Hot Dogs are being sold in France for the first time; a French version of their famous eating contest could be next. Nothing is as American as apple pie, but hot dogs come close. One of the biggest names in wieners is Nathan's Famous, in no small part due to their annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest held on the most American day of the year: the Fourth of July. Recently, Nathan's Famous has been bringing its iconic American menu to other parts of the world—including the Middle East, Asia, and the Great Britain.…
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Sep
25
2021
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By Troy Warren
Drive-Thru Lanes Are Slower, Less Accurate Than They Were Last Year

Drive-Thru Lanes Are Slower, Less Accurate Than They Were Last Year

Foodie,
By Jelisa Castrodale | FoodAndWine.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Foodie It's not just in your imagination. Over the past year, fast-food chains and their customers have increasingly prioritized the drive-thru line over eating in. That's occasionally been out of necessity — like when McDonald's temporarily closed the majority of its dining rooms — but the pandemic has also shifted some of our preferences. We seem to have learned that contact-free and mobile ordering have a lot of upsides, and drive-thrus, for the most part, remain ultra-convenient. (Taco Bell seems to have realized this too: how else do you explain its new two-story, four drive-thrurestaurant concept?)  Unsurprisingly,…
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Sep
24
2021
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By Troy Warren
Pokémon Oreos Are Listed on eBay for Thousands of Dollars

Pokémon Oreos Are Listed on eBay for Thousands of Dollars

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By Mike Pomranz | FoodAndWine.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Foodie Earlier this month, Oreo launched a collaboration with Pokémon, in what the cookie brand billed as its "first-ever cookie rarity scheme." Sellers making lots of money on eBay for seemingly pedestrian food items is a surprisingly common occurrence. A Cheeto resembling Harambe sold for $99,000 back in 2017, and a Dorito sold for $15,000 this July simply for being puffy. In some cases, entrepreneurial eBayers will toss truly commonplace items on the site, like Taco Bell hot sauce packets, just to see if they can hit a quick jackpot. So here's some news Oreo probably saw…
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Sep
23
2021
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By Troy Warren
McDonald’s Is Phasing Out Plastic Happy Meal Toys

McDonald’s Is Phasing Out Plastic Happy Meal Toys

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By Jelisa Castrodale | FoodAndWine.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Foodie The fast-food chain has pledged to "drastically reduce plastics" and offer sustainable Happy Meal toys worldwide by the end of 2025.  Two years ago, a pair of British schoolkids started a Change.org petition, calling on Burger King and McDonald's to stop putting plastic toys in their children's meals. Ella and Caitlin wrote that they'd been learning about plastic's impact on the environment in one of their classes, and it made them "want to do everything [they] could" to prevent further damage to the planet and the living things on it.  "We like to…
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Sep
21
2021
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By Troy Warren
Drake Invests in a Rapidly Growing Hot Chicken Chain

Drake Invests in a Rapidly Growing Hot Chicken Chain

Business, Foodie, ,
By Mike Pomranz | FoodAndWine.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Foodie Dave’s Hot Chicken started at the bottom (well, a parking lot), and now they’re here. Not that rappers can't make plenty of money rapping, but the richest names in hip-hop often make a big chunk of their earnings through other investments. Dr. Dre famously made a fortune with Beats headphones, and in the food world, Jay-Z's net worth is well-padded with the value of his champagne brand, while Travis Scott made $20 million working with McDonald's. Meanwhile, Drake hasn't been afraid to put his money into a wide range of culinary companies: he's…
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Sep
20
2021
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By Troy Warren
Hidden Valley Wants You to Give Out Tiny Ranch Dressing ‘Treats’ This Halloween

Hidden Valley Wants You to Give Out Tiny Ranch Dressing ‘Treats’ This Halloween

Foodie,
By Mike Pomranz | FoodAndWine.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Foodie You can also dress like a giant bottle of ranch with the brand's official costume. With pumpkin spice season in full swing, that means Halloween is right around the corner. Even if you abstained from trick-or-treating last year, hopefully you remember what Halloween is: That one time of year where we all dress up as giant bottles of ranch and hand out little packets of ranch dressing to all the ranch-loving kids that come to our door. Wait… what? Yes, for 2021, Hidden Valley — the original ranch brand — has officially offered to coopt…
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Sep
19
2021
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By Troy Warren
Tater Tots Are Finally Getting the Festival They Deserve

Tater Tots Are Finally Getting the Festival They Deserve

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By Jelisa Castrodale | FoodAndWine.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Foodie This weekend, a town in Oregon will celebrate the popular potato product invented there nearly 70 years ago. Ontario, Oregon, a town of just under 11,000 on the state's border with Idaho, is the birthplace of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Phyllis McGinley, Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dave Wilcox, and the tater tot. But, with apologies to the poet and the Pro-Bowler, only one of them is being celebrated with a two-day festival this weekend.  At 4 p.m. today, the first-ever Tater Tot Festival will kick off in historic downtown Ontario, and it plans…
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Sep
18
2021
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By Troy Warren
Heinz’s New Device Squeezes Every Last Drop Out of a Ketchup Packet

Heinz’s New Device Squeezes Every Last Drop Out of a Ketchup Packet

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By Mike Pomranz | FoodAndWine.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Foodie The Heinz Packet Roller arrives at a time when ketchup packet demand has skyrocketed. A ketchup packet does not contain a lot of ketchup. Sure, the more ketchup averse among us may be able to get by with a single sachet, but it's much more common to see people grabbing these tiny packs by the fistful, sometimes using as much as an entire packet on just a fry or two. For these diehard ketchup enthusiasts, squeezing every last drop of condiment out of the packet can be crucial. And even for those…
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Sep
17
2021
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By Troy Warren
Los Angeles: Will Require Proof of Vaccination to Visit Wineries, Breweries, Clubs, and Bars

Los Angeles: Will Require Proof of Vaccination to Visit Wineries, Breweries, Clubs, and Bars

City News, COVID-19, Foodie, , , ,
By Meena Thiruvengadam | FoodAndWine.Com Troy Warren for LosAngelesNewsAndTalk.Com The new policy will go into effect on Oct. 7. Starting next month, Los Angeles is joining cities across the country in requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry into social venues like bars, wineries, breweries, and nightclubs. Going into effect on Oct. 7, guests, as well as employees of the establishments, will be required to show proof of vaccination. Employees will be required to have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine when the rule goes into effect and will need to have received both doses of a two-dose…
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Sep
15
2021
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By Troy Warren
Taco Bell’s New Taco Lover’s Pass Offers 30 Days of Tacos for One Low Price

Taco Bell’s New Taco Lover’s Pass Offers 30 Days of Tacos for One Low Price

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By Mike Pomranz | FoodAndWine.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Foodie The chain is testing a subscription service in select locations. Remember, if you can, a time before the pandemic: a long, long, less-than-two-years ago. In that halcyon era, a trend had emerged of chains selling "passes" — a discounted price to access a large amount of food over a specific time span. Olive Garden's heavily-hyped Pasta Pass was an instant success in 2014, and others followed: For instance, Smashburger and Red Robin both offered burger passes; 7-Eleven sold a cup with unlimited free refills for a year, and Panera launched a monthly coffee subscription service. It's been a while…
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